


Spotted Affinity

by kihophoric



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Hyungwon Bingo, Insecurity, M/M, Mild Blood, Mutual Pining, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihophoric/pseuds/kihophoric
Summary: It takes twenty six years for Hyungwon to realize that his definition of love has always had one constant: Changkyun.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Im Changkyun | I.M
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50
Collections: Hyungwon Bingo: Round 2





	Spotted Affinity

**Author's Note:**

> For Hyungwon bingo's "Werecreature" square!
> 
> Before you read: I got inspiration for this fic from the real-life concept of zoos giving lonely cheetahs a domestic dog friend. Cheetahs are known to be really shy and nervous, and dogs are surprisingly great companions for them. And they usually end up becoming best friends for life c:

When Hyungwon is four years old, he thinks love is when someone gives up their last piece of meat for you.

Hyungwon is full. But a pair of round, expectant eyes stare up at him and a tiny wolf snout pushes the food his way, waiting. And the little cheetah decides maybe he can spare another bite, after all.

  
  


◮

  
  


When Hyungwon is eight, he’s old enough to learn that love is having the courage to apologize, and the heart to accept the apology.

He also learns that cats and dogs don’t always see things the same way. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be friends. Especially when the wolf is kind and forgiving and wise for his years. Hyungwon is shy, oh so shy, and Changkyun gives him his space without Hyungwon even needing to voice it out loud. But Changkyun also helps Hyungwon realize that life comes with so much joy if he keeps the door to his heart open just a crack wider.

  
  


◮

  
  


Hyungwon is twelve when he realizes that love comes in many forms.

It’s the age that all creatures of the land begin to shift into their human counterparts. Not permanently, for doing away entirely with their animal selves could lead to psychological pain. No, their dual roles are so that their human neighbors may see them (and they see themselves) as at least somewhat civilized. Pitiful and unfair, but it’s the way of the times. 

Now without his black and yellow spots, Hyungwon takes his wobbly two legs to the neighboring village. There he sees Changkyun also standing up on two legs, also unsteady, and not fully human yet. Changkyun notices his friend arrive and excitedly swishes his tail, letting out a laugh that makes the freckles dance where his whiskers used to be. And Hyungwon laughs along as he spins him, open and free and their hearts and their worlds double in size.

  
  


◮

  
  


Hyungwon is fourteen when he’s taught that there’s a right and a wrong way to love.

Being the only child of his own clan’s head family, he has a heavy burden to carry. He learns at this age that the filial love of the community must come before any personal love. But Hyungwon is still a child, and when he hears talks of using him in a future marriage to strengthen their ties with another clan, he does what any child would do.

He sulks.

Changkyun understands, he always does. Despite being from a litter of many, Changkyun is also the son of the wolves’ pack leader. Fortunately, he is the youngest and unshackled from the possibility of being used as political bait. With his freedom, he’s developed a penchant as the pack’s troublemaker, and yearns to live beyond the drawn lines. 

“Let’s run away,” Changkyun suggests. He says it so casually, as if it’s the most obvious answer to Hyungwon’s problem.

Hyungwon raises a brow. “But why would you run away, too?”

Changkyun shrugs. “I’ve never cared for our community’s rules, anyway. Love shouldn’t have restrictions.”

But for all that Hyungwon complains, he still very much seeks the respect of the elders. After all, he’s an outsider, blessed from the clan’s compassion. He was found as an abandoned baby when the childless leader desperately needed an heir. Hyungwon’s life could’ve ended before it began if the fates hadn’t played in his favor. So he knows there are debts to be repaid, and he opts not to run away, after all. 

Changkyun teases him for being all bark and no bite. The jab itself is in good humor but Hyungwon pretends to get upset. Only so that Changkyun can stay curled up next to him for a little while longer. The familiar scent reminds him of home. 

  
  


◮

  
  


When Hyungwon is eighteen, he experiences an ugly side to love.

The shifters banquet has barely begun when Changkyun drags Hyungwon out and bounds away towards the outskirts. Other than with sly smiles, he’s not answering Hyungwon’s questions on where they’re headed. It annoys Hyungwon. He’s about to dig his heels firmly on the ground when he realizes that they’re nearly on top of a human village next door to their own community. The two transform, and Changkyun puts a finger on his lips before running up to hide behind the bushes.

On the other side is a field of crops with nobody in sight. After some minutes of silence, Changkyun gasps. He points at a speck of a distant villager walking closer to them. Hyungwon tenses, unconsciously gripping down Changkyun’s wrist. Changkyun prys his hand off and winks at a perplexed Hyungwon, and then runs over to greet the human as if they are longtime friends. The human even rests a hand on Changkyun’s arm. Hyungwon can’t hear what they’re talking about. 

He feels a slight burning sensation in his stomach.

Hyungwon stays in hiding, although he quickly finds no reason to, after Changkyun openly points at him to the curious human. Begrudgingly, he stands up and dusts himself off. He’s spoken to humans before, but only in stilted conversation during the interclan events and never without the company of several fellow shifters. He’s cautious as he approaches the villager. He seems fair, and clean, by a farmer’s standards. A friendly smile reveals two dimples making small caverns into round, pink cheeks.

Changkyun wastes no time introducing the two to each other. The human’s name is Jooheon. Changkyun had been sneaking around the human village one day when Jooheon had approached him asking if he were lost. Changkyun had an instinctive feeling, like he could trust Jooheon immediately. Jooheon had never met a shifter in person but accepted Changkyun with no holds barred. The two had become friendly since then, and now they’re joking that they can become the bridge to the two communities. Hyungwon smiles along with him, hoping the burning doesn’t make him heave.

“Could you smell the human’s sweet blood?” Changkyun asks, panting as they’re headed home in their animal counterparts.

“We aren’t vampires,” Hyungwon notes. 

Changkyun laughs, but presses on. “But what did you think about him?” 

Hyungwon doesn’t know why that would matter, especially since Changkyun has already been sneaking out to meet with this human without Hyungwon knowing. So he laughs back, short and jaded. 

“Why, if I don’t like him, would you stop seeing him?”

“In a heartbeat,” Changkyun says simply.

And the brewing bile that's been rising up in Hyungwon's throat decides to fall back down and drown him, instead. 

  
  


◮

  
  


Hyungwon is twenty-two when he believes love can be bargained with, and thinks if he can’t pursue the romantic kind, he will be satisfied with the one in front of him.

The two are hunting down a deer as their animal counterparts. It’s here that Changkyun is in his element, and Hyungwon is so distracted by the other’s primal intensity that he accidentally lets go of their cornered prey. Changkyun’s low growl only brings Hyungwon off his game even further. The wolf is smaller and less nimble than the cheetah, but it’s not hard to tell who has the upper hand in this kill.

Now a human, Hyungwon is hoisting the carcass across a plank of wood. Without warning, the wolf rips off a chunk of the bloody meat with his teeth. 

Hyungwon tuts in disapproval. “You know we’re better than that. There’s a reason we’ve evolved to only eat cooked meats. How disappointed must your ancestors be?” 

All while chastising an unconcerned Changkyun, Hyungwon pointedly focuses his sight on tying the ropes around the deer’s legs. The alternative would’ve been letting an adorably mischievous face render him defenseless, where he’ll lose the game yet again.

After the carcass is carried back to Changkyun’s village, a small feast is thrown. Their bellies filled and their bodies drowsy, Changkyun throws out a question. 

“Stay for the night, just like old times?”

Hyungwon swallows. They’ve had sleepovers when they were younger, whispering secrets nobody else would know and sharing soft giggles. But they’re older now. Still, it’s not enough of a reason to say no. Hyungwon has no excuse, none other than that he’s harboring a secret crush on his best friend and he has to stomp the fire to ashes before it travels any further, especially since Hyungwon’s engaged now. He doesn’t say any of this, of course, and shrugs. 

The thatched roof of Changkyun’s room has a hole where the straws were pushed aside, and the light of the full moon pours in. Changkyun flops onto the bed. His form is human, mostly. Out of sheer laziness he doesn’t bother to control the natural growth of his pointed ears. The tip of his nose becomes blacker and more rounded, and the freckles where his whiskers would be deepen, too. He blinks sleepily up at a still-standing Hyungwon, and the stars in the wolf’s eyes blink along with him. 

Hyungwon climbs onto the bed being careful not to touch the other. He lies down on his back with his arms neatly placed over his stomach, hoping the glow of the celestial bodies above can show mercy from exposing his rosy cheeks. But he forgets that the black slits on hazel cat eyes gives himself away.

A shift, and then Changkyun is nuzzling his face into the crook of Hyungwon’s neck. Hyungwon tenses at first. And then he relaxes into a quiet purr, his pupils turning back into larger circles. Changkyun tilts his head up and throws a lopsided grin.

“Have you confessed to him yet?” Hyungwon asks.

The grin falters, then turns into a frown as Changkyun scoots away. “I told you, there’s nothing to confess.”

It’s predictable, this conversation of theirs. Changkyun is quite certainly in love, despite his dismissals whenever Hyungwon brings it up. It’s confusing, even a bit silly, Hyungwon thinks, to see his usually self-assured friend take so long to profess his true feelings to Jooheon. The human has been a constant in Changkyun’s life for years, and even the most foolish can see the wolf’s fondness for him. When Hyungwon speaks, he faces the sky.

“If it’s the clan you’re worried about, I can speak on your behalf, you know.”

“What is this?” Changkyun gapes. “Hyungwon, the ever so loyal shifter, willing to stand up against our community’s precious tradition?”

“Don’t mock me,” Hyungwon chides. “Regardless, it would’ve been less of a bother if you’d only chosen a mate of your own kind.”

“Ah, there’s the cheetah I know and love.”

It takes more than a second for Hyungwon to recuperate. “Is there really nobody among us that you find attractive?”

He hears nothing in return. So he turns to face Changkyun, who appears to be sad.

“It’s alright,” Hyungwon says quickly. “I can convince the elders of the human. But there’s a knack to it, it’ll take some time, and I need your approval first-” 

“You’re happy, right? With Wonho?”

Hyungwon nods slowly. “I’m grateful.”

“And happy?”

Hyungwon should be. Of all the wild cats out there, the tiger clan is the most powerful and revered. And, Wonho, the second son of the clan’s leader, has all the attributes anyone could wish for in a lifelong partner. The two have only met on occasion, but his name precedes his person. He’s strong and brave and beautiful, but has the heart as soft as the river’s curved bends. 

So Hyungwon nods again. 

Changkyun stares at his friend’s face for a moment longer. He then makes up his mind with a sigh, wraps an arm around the other’s waist, and burrows himself into the gap Hyungwon gives in between them, perfectly shaped for a certain wolf and meant only for him.

  
  
  


◮

  
  


Hyungwon is twenty four years old when someone tells him they love him, and all Hyungwon feels in return is guilt.

So Hyungwon smiles and echoes the words back at Wonho, as a good future pack leader should towards his fiance. Hardly reading the other's expression, he hurtles out the door, taking his guilty feelings with him as fast as his cheetah paws can take him. Because Changkyun is out there hurting, hurting, and Hyungwon doesn't know how he knows but he feels the searing pain as if it's his own, the pain of his best friend's heart that's been broken into itty bitty pieces. 

(Although, while his ears hear Wonho's words, his mind is too preoccupied to register Wonho's tone. It's one of rehearsed delivery, one that has a similarly artificial cadance as his own movements throughout this relationship. If Hyungwon had listened carefully, he would've empathized with Wonho, in sharing the same longing for a secret love that's just out of reach. But that's a story for another time.) 

Hyungwon finds Changkyun in no time. The wolf is crouching at the riverbank, back facing the cheetah. As Hyungwon nears, anguish washes over him in waves, and the wolf's emotions are stronger than ever. He steps on a fallen twig, and Changkyun immediately stiffens. Before turning around, he splashes water on his face.

"Hey," Hyungwon's voice is tentative. He pauses his footsteps as he searches through Changkyun's drenched expression. Wet strands form clumps on his forehead and droplets fall in urgency from his lashes. 

Changkyun smiles tight-lipped, but his puffy eyes and nose with a hint of red give it all away.

"What is it?" Hyungwon asks. "Is it Jooheon?"

Changkyun shakes his head, bowed down and Hyungwon has to crane his neck to see his face. He doesn’t speak for some time, trying to make up his mind about something. And then:

"It's you."

Hyungwon racks his brain, trying to remember what he's done to cause this misery, trying to retrace his steps to find the culprit in his own actions. He's never really deserved a friend like Changkyun, he thinks bitterly. He had prayed he was enough, that he positively added to Changkyun's life, that he steered Changkyun in the right direction towards a flowery path. But of course he'd hurt him in the end. How dare Hyungwon, an outcast, a throwaway, try to find a companion in someone who is the embodiment of love, itself?

"I'm sorry," is all that Hyungwon manages to say.

Changkyun looks up at that, momentarily lost. "Did you not hear me? It's always been you."

Hyungwon doesn't understand, he never really does. Or maybe a part of him does, but he doesn't indulge in that sort of reality. Because Hyungwon is undeserving, and it's easier for him to carry the burden of blame than to believe in such wild dreams. It'll be easier for Changkyun, too, if Hyungwon pretends he didn't hear him. If it's not Jooheon, there is someone else out there who's worthwhile for a gem like Changkyun.

So Hyungwon walks up, places a firm hand on Changkyun's shoulder, and says, "It's getting dark. Your pack must be worried about you."

Hyungwon pretends he doesn't see the pools spilling over Changkyun's eyes. But he rubs circles on his back as he gently guides him through the forest thickets. It's a quiet walk back at first, other than the occasional sniffling. Then Hyungwon starts humoring Changkyun, and succeeds with a giggle. By the time the two emerge out the other end of the trees, they're both talking and laughing. And through all of this, they make a silent agreement: their conversation by the river never happened.

  
  
  


◮

  
  
  


Twenty six years.

It takes twenty six years for Hyungwon to realize that his definition of love has always had one constant: Changkyun.

But realization and the call to action don’t always go hand in hand.

The wedding has been postponed twice already, the first initiated by Hyungwon and the second by Wonho. They cited nervous jitters, and their excuse was surprisingly taken with stride. Neither have their hearts set on this agreement, but both are too loyal to their families to give a hard dismissal. 

Now that they've both played their cards, their hands are empty. Only a few hours stand between them and the ceremony marking a commitment for life. They’ve come all the way here, and Hyungwon thinks it’d be a moment of deep shame if he backed out.

Jooheon visits the shifters’ community every now and then. His case to enter the community boundaries was made through Changkyun, after all. The wolf had picked up a trick or two in elder speak from Hyungwon. In the end, Changkyun was able to single-handedly coax the community to approve of unofficial human visits. 

Right now, Jooheon grips his arms tight around Changkyun’s, clinging onto him like a frightened child as the noisy outdoor wedding preparations around them make headway. 

“There’s nothing to fear. We’re all friends here,” Hyungwon yells above the din.

The human’s eyes widen and he darts around, his fear clearly not quelled. The shifters around them are all in their human form, constructing the setting for the opulent affair. Another shifter, a familiar one, walks up to the three.

“You’ve got to stop stealing my heart with your mere presence,” Changkyun shouts, and Wonho laughs. Changkyun’s glance trails to Hyungwon and grins at the upset face. “Don’t say you’re the possessive type?” 

Wonho snorts, but doesn’t say anything out of respect for his fiance. They've shared more than simply time over the years, they've shared secrets. And seeing a braver Changkyun playing with Hyungwon, he hopes there's a chance at freedom for all of them. 

Even more amused at Hyungwon’s darkening expression, Changkyun detaches from Jooheon and glides over to Wonho, hooking an arm through his.

“Why? Does this make you jealous?” Changkyun loudly offers, wiggling his brows.

“Of him, maybe,” Hyungwon mumbles and in that split second, the noise around them falls to a quiet. Hyungwon clears his throat and then stares intently into the distance, but it doesn’t do enough to cover his words.

“What did you say?” Changkyun breathes out.

Hyungwon makes a poor attempt to appear nonchalant. “He’s beautiful and captivating and steals your heart. Of course I’d be jealous.”

Changkyun frowns and unhooks from Wonho. “But you’re all of those things, too.”

“Beautiful and captivating?”

“And you’ve stolen my heart,” Changkyun adds slowly, “but you’ve known that already.”

Jooheon is no longer afraid of his surroundings. Instead, he’s completely focused on this conversation now, arms crossed and squinting at Hyungwon for a response. To his side, a hint of a smile plays on Wonho's lips.

“Ah,” Hyungwon says, and leaves it at that. 

Because Changkyun’s not wrong, and Hyungwon does know. No matter how much Hyungwon has pushed down his own doubts and insecurities, it’s become impossible not to ignore just how much he means to Changkyun. It scares Hyungwon, Changkyun’s love. Scares him because it may be true, and since Changkyun is kind and forgiving and wise, he wouldn’t give away his love if the other person didn’t deserve it.

So maybe Hyungwon should get a chance at happiness, after all.

“What now, then?” Changkyun stands his ground. 

Hyungwon doesn’t know if it’s the added years or the added support of those around them. But he senses a certainty in Changkyun that contrasts from the eventful conversation just a few years earlier. The certainty radiates off the wolf and Hyungwon absorbs it into himself, feeling a growing confidence in the feelings that he’s kept locked up beneath his heart’s floorboards. 

He looks around at the bustling work around them. He looks at Jooheon, who raises a brow, impatience palpable on his face. He looks at Wonho, who has to bite his lips to hold down a hopeful smile. And then finally, finally, Hyungwon reverts back to his anchor, to his home, to Changkyun.

“Now, I’ll speak to the elders.”

“To delay the wedding again?”

“No,” Hyungwon waits for a nod from the others before responding. “To change the groom’s name. But only if you want to,” he adds, suddenly all too nervous. 

“If I want to do what?” Changkyun grins, knowing what’s to come but relishing in the other’s reaction, anyway.

Hyungwon falters, and then shakes his head with a laugh. Tension eases from his shoulders and the nervousness he’s felt seems silly. Because this is Hyungwon, and that’s Changkyun, and their feelings don’t need to be questioned because their love is as clear and as expansive as the summer skies.

“Marry me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! ♡


End file.
